Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers 500 gr Bullet in 1895 ?

In a recent trade I came by a box of 500 gr .458 RN. It appears that loading them to cycle thru the action is not gonna leave much room for powder, so I’m wondering if anyone has tried pistol powders with these bullets.

Nothing wrong with shooting 500gr solids out of an 1895. But you've got to keep COL under 2.6". You'll find lots of recipes for cast 500gr, but might be nothing for jacketed. Don't expect more than 15-1600fps.

As far as plinkers, 6-7gr of Bullseye-class fast powders will net you 750fps. I've made 500gr cast plinkers before, but never jacketed. My plinkers were fun to shoot. Have fun!

Lyman cast manual from 1973 says 12 to 16 grains Unique or 21.5 to 27.5 grains of 2400 for a 482 grain cast gas check bullet if that is any help!

dammm thats a hunk of lead..........these are only 400's

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

41 gr of RL7 pushes 525 gr Beartooth Bullets Pile Drivers along at ~1630 out of my GBL.

I'd say that's probably more than enough to kill anything I might ever hunt.

Thanks for the replies. I’m gonna see what a 1200/FPS load will do to a hog. A 350 gr Hornady will reliably exit thru the shoulders of a 200 pound hog but won’t shoot thru one lengthwise.

We shall find out.

Rest assured if one gets such a slug up to 16 or 17 hundred fps, it will be killing on both ends. I loaded up some 405's to 1,750, and they are not fun. Have mold for some 540 grain slugs, but I am not going there with the Guide Gun. Will give them a try though in 15lb 45-90 Sharps.

They are sporty, trust me....

1200 may be more than I want to tolerate. We shall see.

1200, not so bad.....1550 gits to be "thumpish". Not painful standing, very painful off a bench.

The recoil is cumulative, 6 or 7 rounds and a .223 sounds like a good idea.

AA5744 is a good powder for cast bullets about 20-25 grains for a 405 gr.

Bro Keith

I have shot quite a few 1895's over the years and maybe 20 or more years ago I did the same thing as you. I loaded Hornady 500gn RN and the OAL was too long to cycle though the action though they fed singly. The other issue is you cannot unload the rifle with a loaded round and have to remove the bolt as if for cleaning which is not practical in the field so you really need motivation to play with this option. Me, I was in a position to leave it chambered and lower the hammer, or fire off that longer round before cycling the rest and putting it away empty.

Here are some loads I tried seated to the cannelure from the lot I had back then.
50gn IMR 4064 = 1491fps
48gn AR 2206 = 1434fps
45gn AR 2207 (H 4198) = 1576fps
46gn Rel 7 = 1504fps
50gn Rel 12 = 1439fps

These loads were tested in a Marlin 1895 SS with 22" barrel.
I also shot a lot of feral goats with them and they were mostly lifeless at the shot. Because the rifle is neither designed nor intended for this bullet weight, recoil is not pleasant with the light rifle weight, excessive drop at heal and hard rubber plate loosely called, a recoil pad.

These days I would stop with a 250gn or 300gn Barnes TSX for everything out to as far as you can hit them.

Am staying with a Cast Performance 420gr WLNGC until my stocks run out, solid brass Penetrators and then going with Beartooth 425gr Pile Driver Jr.

Plenty for anything at 1650-1800fps. Got enough "bear defense" cartridges for half the bears in the North Cascades!

I had a very humbling experience with my 1895 two days ago.

I was at the local range and a guy set up a chronograph. He let me use it. I learned to put it much further from the muzzle. He also used a much more sturdy tripod than I had been using.

So I went home and dug mine out and put it on a sturdy tripod. Took some 405 grain reloads out with a 1895 ported . These reloads have a almost shrink wrap plasticc lining around the bearing surface! It appeared my chronograph was operating fairly accurately when shooting a 35 Remington and a 356 ER.

The 1895 45/70 shot the 405 s 2000 fps! I rechecked my load data. All I can think of is I must have started with the 300 grain bullet data!

I shudder to think if I would have used this recipie for the non plastic coated bullets! The box the cartridges were in stated 49 grains H 4198 with cci 250 primers. I am gonna pull a bullet and weigh it today but for now I believe they are 405 grainers.

Wow...I stopped at 40gr of H4198 at ~1700fps with 18 1/2" barrels w/405s.

These loads have shot out of two other 1895 s.

But I think I really screwed this up and some how escaped tragedy.

Glad nothing serious happened. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

Check the front of the receiver over the barrel threads, this is where overpressure damage often shows up first. Is it slightly misshapened or is the surface slightly frosty? Hope not.


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49gr of H4198 pushing a 405gr bullet isnt that hot depending on the cartridge case used. With Remington Nickel plated that might be too hot, but with Starline plain brass that wouldn't. I doubt you've harmed anything.

Lots of guys used to push 2000fps from an 18.5" barrel before they wised up and eased off.

I was wanting to do that with a 500 gr. Cast bullet, powder coated, for use thru my can, also

I had a Siamese amused I loaded 550g cast in and used the modern rifle loads . Forget the actual data, but I know they made me wander around talking to my shoe laces after about 5 off the bench..
Couldn't cycle them in my 95 so that kept this idiot safe.
I have loaded 405's ,powder coated up to where the went through a elk shoulder to shoulder ,turning bone to bone meal.
Got so enamored with pumping up the 45-70 that it wasn't fun any more.
Dialer it back down to trapdoor levels and guess what. Next elk , shoulder to shoulder with bone shares making the lungs look like the had been through a quisenart blender.
Big and slow feels better.
Trail Boss is a pointers friend.

My load for years consisted of a 405 grain Kodiak Custom Super Premium Bonded bullet, Winchester brass, 54 grains of H322 and WLR primers. I used to use 56 grains of H322 from my old Speer manual, but backed off to 54 grains after reading some stuff by Brian Pierce, thank you Mr. Pierce. The bullet sits on that case full of H322 and with a good crimp from the Lee crimp die, it stays put under recoil when in the rifle's tubular magazine

The velocity out of my fire lapped, DBC coated, "customized" Marlin 45-70 and it's 21" octagon barrel with Ballard rifling is well over 1,900 fps mv. It is absolutely no fun to shoot off of the bench, so most of my shooting with that beast is off hand or off of shooting sticks. I still have over 80 of those heavy jacketed 405 grain Kodiak bullets loaded up. I also have some heavy jacketed 350 grain Kodiak bullets that I am going to load up and they will probably be going well over 2,000 fs mv with H322 and new Starline brass.

Karl from Alaska Bullet Works in Juneau shoots a 45-70 with his 405 grain heavy jacketed bullet. He said many Alaskan guides and other Alaskan's that carry a 45-70 for bear protection prefer the heavy jacketed 405 grain version for up close shots on big bears. But, he said the regular jacket thickness worked fine, but he mainly makes the heavy jacket per customer requests. Should I ever opt for hunting with my Marlin for moose I believe the 350 grain version will be a plenty and think it also is plenty for big bears.

I know many use cast and LBT style bullets in their 45-70's or some other type of non expanding deep penetrating bullet and have good results. But, since I won't be hunting out of North America I will stick with an expanding jacketed bullet. I have heard good things about the discontinued 300 grain Nosler bullet and wish it was and option for hunters.

Barnes makes a 350 grain X bullet for Buffalo Bore for the 45-70, but they have some kind of a "agreement" with them and will not offer that bullet as a component for those of us who load our own. If they did I would grab some as I am a Barnes X fan. I personally feel they are doing a disservice to their many loyal customers by refusing to sell that 350 grain X bullet to them, but I realize they are in business to make money.

Like many in Alaska, I hunt with a scoped bolt rifle, but when not hunting, I prefer the slab sided Marlin 45-70 for hiking, ATV rides, camping, fishing salmon streams, berry picking, etc. The big and heavy .45 caliber bullet is a comfort during those activities.